Unique Book On Dealing With Head Injuries Now Available To Wider Audience

Pook the Hamster, a book aimed at children and relatives of people who have suffered brain injuries, is now available in a range of new languages thanks to support from national law firm Irwin Mitchell.

The illustrated book, originally commissioned by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, is written in a child-friendly format by Laura Bach and aims to simplify the behavioural, emotional and cognitive changes people go through after suffering life changing head injuries.

The hospital has a specialist Regional Neurological Rehabilitation Unit (RNRU) Outreach team who launched Pook the Hamster in English as part of an initiative to expand their services to help support children and families of brain injury patients. 

Now, thanks to funding from Irwin Mitchell, the book is available in Urdu, Japanese, Turkish and Polish languages. This is an important development as the RNRU Outreach team regularly deal with a range of different nationalities and the literature will ensure that key messages are not lost in translation.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist serious head injury team have helped thousands of people who have suffered serious injuries and ensured they get the support services needed for high-quality rehabilitation.

Colin Ettinger, Partner and Personal Injury Specialist at Irwin Mitchell said: “We see first-hand the devastating impact head injuries can have on both the individuals’ life and their friends and families.

“Serious head injuries can leave those affected with physical problems such as impairment of movement, balance or speech and cognitive impairment such as poor memory or attention and personality changes.

“By working with clients we how important it is to have access to the best possible advice, care, rehabilitation and specialist support to help them overcome their injuries.

“The unique feature of this book is that it is written in an anthropomorphic style. This means that the parent’s actions and behaviour are seen through the eyes of a pet hamster which makes it easier for children to understand what happens after a series brain injury and how to cope and react to the changes. 

“It is important that we seek to help head injury sufferers in every way we can and this book being produced in a range of different languages will be a positive help to young children and adults coming to terms with the changes that come through a loved one suffering a serious brain injury.”

Pook the Hamster features information for families on how to manage common behavioural, emotional, or cognitive problems. Chapters focus on depression, anxiety, memory, motivation/apathy, impulsiveness, insensitivity to social cues, problem-solving, and judgement.